Howdy, looking at new wheels for a 26er to ride typical British trails, bit of UK uplift and a week in the Alps. Anyone riding with these and have an opinion on them or any other good reasonable priced wheels out there.
I went back to Hope after giving up on Easton - only 2 rides in but so far so good
Double post
Mine are working fine; had to take them to LBS for truing after first ride, but since then they've had a week in the Alps, a few trail centres and a visit to BPW along with XC duties. They're still true. They feel light to me (compared to my previous Mavis EX823s) and tryres sit better on the wider rim compared to my Mavic XM819s. I like them.
I've got some on my 5,26",just get some bought they're mint !.
Had stans before,these seam far superior,stronger not as flexy & all important Brirish !.
I paid about £310 pair with purple hubs .
I have a SP pair on my Stereo hpc 160. They are tough, but in 650b size are about 2000g a pair
I've yet to break mine
Ta for the replies. Got hope headset and skewers and do like the fact there made in Britain.
Reedspeed did you get the purple hubs on a standard build and who from?
Apologies if the answer is really obvious just started looking at them tonight.
Yes ,I used my lbs Sherwood pines,they price matched someone on the net !.. Some one in Wales ,I'll ping you a pic,to email if ya want !.
If you'd got one ??????
Just got some with standard spokes in 26" flavour. Very happy so far, but only a couple of rides in so can't say much. Tubeless setup was dead easy, give my 2.35" High Roller 2 and Hans Dampf tyres a nice profile, feel stiff, no noticeable detensioning of spokes so far.
Don't think Hope make the rims themselves though Marin.
Nope their design on the rims ape should say mostly built and assembled in Britain.
I'd have to have redhubs reedspeed. Red bikes go faster!
Ta for the answers think I'm buying a set.
That rings a bell, yes. I like mine, as said above really easy to set up tubeless with SS tape and valves. Just seem like nice solid wheels.
Don't think Hope make the rims themselves though Marin.
No they don't. In fact (could be a load of shit) I read somewhere it was Alex.
Btw Stans flow are slightly lighter, wider and tougher.
awesome wheels, got silver hubs and they look mega.
feel solid on any surface.
hope rims and handlebars are the only things not made in the UK
hope rims and handlebars are the only things not made in the UK
... and they decided not to launch the bars in the end anyway.
hope rims and handlebars are the only things not made in the UK... and they decided not to launch the bars in the end anyway.
says a lot.....
I gather making bars requires a lot of specialised machinery; Renthal and Thomson source their MTB bars from the Far East too, IIRC.
darrenspink - MemberBtw Stans flow are slightly lighter, wider and tougher.
Thought that too - wondering why folks are choosing the heavier Hope rim (other than the awful logos on Stan's)
honourablegeorge - Memberwondering why folks are choosing the heavier Hope rim (other than the awful logos on Stan's)
Because Hope, I think (also I've heard that Hope are discontinuing Flow-Hoops)
Ta for the answers
Are Flow EX tougher than Hope Enduro rims? I know they're a bit wider and a bit lighter but I thought Hope were aiming to make a stronger rim with their design. I have Flows on the hardtail and Flow EX on the full-sus (both with Pro 2 Evo hubs) and can't fault them though!
My LBS told me that the Hope rims have replaced Flows. Also I got blue hubs as a standsrd option no waiting or premium for custom build
any other good reasonable priced wheels out there.
Have a look at Superstar Tech 4 wheels, with the DS25 rims.
Very impressed with mine. Similar weight to what you're looking at and nicely finished.
And under £200 the pair of course.
26er? 😕
Chakaping
Superstar v Hope ?,lol... Errr ...
Hard to argue with such a well-put case.
My LBS told me that the Hope rims have replaced Flows.
Can't see that, the flows are built to take a whole lot more than 'Enduro'. They sell a 'lot' of them every year. Think they would be shooting themselves in the foot there, but maybe its true.
Holy thread resurrection batman...
Has anyone settled the Stans flow ex vs Hope tech enduro debate yet?
I'm about to pull the trigger on either of them. Held both in the shop yesterday and the hopes seemed noticeably heavier, but the weight difference listed on the Hope site is negligible.
I have a 2nd-hand flow on the back of my old bike at present, no real issues, but I did have to bend the rim wall back straight after a flatspot from the previous owner.
I'm not known for being light on wheels (insert fat git), but I don't want spec extra rotating weight just for the sake of it. Is the easier to true with eyelets adage correct? They are going on a winch-plummet 160mm bike FWIW.
For once, the ugly stans graphics won't be a problem as the bike is red/black, but on the flipside I know of a pair of tech enduros ready-built but never ridden where there might be some wriggle room on the price.
In the end, does it matter?
I doubt there's much in it TBH. I'd pulled the trigger on some Hope Hoops with Flow EXs only to be told that Hope were no longer making them. As I couldn't find any for the same price elsewhere I went with the Hope Techs.
Weight is near as dammit the same (according to specs). Flow EXs are slightly wider, but I've found the 23mm internal width of the Techs to give my 2.35" High Roller2 and Hans Dampf a very nice profile. No idea which is stronger, doubt there's much in it. I suspect that eyelets make very little, if any difference.
If it were me, I'd go for whichever is cheaper.
From speaking with Hope recently (at Core) they're not planning to restock any of the Stans rim options. Annoying for us as the Arch Ex are our best seller of all the rim options on their Hoops. Flow Ex 26" has sold out already, the other sizes will follow as stocks diminish.
Hope say it's because their own rims are selling better, but reading between the lines I reckon it's Stans are no longer supplying them. If Hope have put the effort and money into their own rims, I'd imagine they're keener to push those too.
Their wording on the rim ranges is that they wanted something stiffer (sturdier/heavier?) than the equivalent Stans. Hope were keen for eyelets too. We've not seen issues with Stans as such. It looks as though Hope aren't prioritising weight and width as I might choose.
It'll certainly be interesting to see how this plays out. As a shop, we can still build Stans rims onto Hope hubs, but there's no way we can hit the same complete wheel prices without the scale of someone like Hope involved in the build.
too heavy the hopes are for me, stans are made of cheese too but their new flow ex rim is supposedly stronger/lighter and more dent resistant looking at their blurb
the hopes are 2000 plus setup tubeless and only 23c internal, the new flow ex rim is 25.5 and still a bit lighter when build up with hope hubs
sadly it would put me off the hopes the weight, although im sure they are well made although ive heard plenty of reports already suggesting that they are too soft and non ding resistant just the same as the stans
I've had Easton haven for a couple of years now and after swapping the Easton putty bearings they have been faultless. They're light and the rims are excellent. I hit the edge of a flagstone with the rear at speed (well I think at speed) burst the hans danmf and I thought the rim had smashed but no! Not a mark on the rim but a wrecked tyre